Dish liners



A. L. KUHLMAN M. s,v 1963 DISH LINERS 2 Sheet s-Sheet -1 Filed Dec. 24,1959 1N VEN TOR.

, 770/? A/Em Feb. 5, 1963 A. KUHLMAN 3,076,579

DISH LINERS Filed Dec. 24, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. flr/hur LAuh/man i o 4 y gmw mwf fi w HTTOR/VEYS 3,076,579 DISH LINERS Arthur L.Kuhlman, 38,192 Mnrdiek Drive, New Baltimore, Mich. Filed Dec. 24-, W59,Ser. No. 861,875 2 Claims. (Cl. 220-45) This invention relates to dishliners for use on plates and dishes in general, and more particularly toan inexpensive disposable liner which can be discarded after use.

dtates Patent Q The washing of plates and other dishes after each mealis a somewhat tedious and laborious operation, particularly in view ofthe fact that they must be first scraped,

then washed and dried.

It is, therefore, one of the prime objects of the invention to designplate'and dish liners or laminations of various shapes and sizes to fitover the face of the plate or dish on which food is placed fordistribution and consumption, the upper liner or lamination beingreadily removable and disposable after removal, so that the plate ordish and the next exposed lamination presents a clean surface free offood, etc. for use at the next meal, thus eliminating the scraping,washing and drying above referred to.

Another object of the invention is to provide laminated liner cartridgesapplicable to a conventional plate or dish so that each liner can beindividually removed without displacing or in any manner interferingwith the next lowermost liner.

Another object is to provide a relatively thin liner of pleasingappearance, which can be transparent, if desired, so that the color andpattern of the dish will be readily visible therethrough.

A further object is to design packaged dish liners of simple, practical,and relatively inexpensive construction, put up and applicable to thedishes as a packaged unit, and which will not be damaged by use ofconventional forks, knives or other utensils used by the diner, and fromwhich the upper exposed soiled liner can be readily stripped fordisposal at the end of the meal.

Another object is to devise disposable liner members shaped to fit theface of the dish to which they are applied, and provide means forsecuring the liner on said dish, said liners being formed of tough, thinplastic or other material; the thin sheets or laminations of whichadhere to each other, and the entire cartridge or unit being applied tothe dish so that when food is placed thereon it contacts the top lineronly, the lower laminations of the unit forming a cushioning surface, sothat forks and knives will not pierce or otherwise cause leakage fromliner to liner.

A further object is to provide liners in cartridge form, applicable tothe dish as a unit, and provide readily operable means interposed betwenthe individual liners to permit the upper individual liner to bestripped from the cartridge after each use.

Another obiect is to provide liner units composed of multi-laminations,each of which, when removed, forms an individual bag in which particlesof food and liquid remaining on the plate is held, so that the bagproper can be readily handled withouot soiling the hands, etc., of theperson effecting the removal.

6 With the above and other ob ects 11'] View, the present inventionconsists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter morefully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and moreparticularly pointed 3,076,579 Patented Feb. 5, 19%3 spirit, orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a liner cartridge in position on aplate.

FIG. 2 is a transverse, sectional View, taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1showing the backing and liner unit.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the separating meansbetween each pair of sheets, the broken lines showing the cord beingremoved.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the removal of thetop sheet or lamination.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the lamination used as a bag and ready fordisposal.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a single disposable liner applied to aplate.

. FIG. Sis a transverse, sectional view taken on line 88 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the flexible plate usedas a cover.

In FIGURES 1-5 of the attached drawings, I have shown the invention asapplied to a conventional dinner plate 10 which can be of any desiredpattern or design,

and the liners can be manufactured and put up individually or packagedin cartridge form to provide individual units U, each unit comprising aplurality of laminated liners, which liners are tightly pressed togetherin a pack as shown to snugly fit the exposed face of the plate 1th onwhich it is secured.

In the unit form each package includes a base or backing member 12 whichis preferably of heavier material than the individual laminations and isfirmly secured thereto; it can be formed of plastic, stiff paper, or anyother desired material, and is molded to fit either the rim section, orthe entire face of the plate on which it is mounted. As is bestillustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, the base member projects beyond theperipheral edge of the rim of the dish.

Cutouts 14 are punched in the projecting portion of the rim 15' of thebacking member 12, in spaced-apart relation, each cutout including aninwardly projecting tongue section 16 with openings 17 on the oppositeedges of the tongue, the free end of said tongue being severed from themain body, so that it can be pressed away from the pack of liners toengage the lower edge of the plate rim 15, all as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2of the drawings, and the upper face of this tongue can be coated with anadhesive so that it readily adheres to the lower surface of the platerim.

The liners 11 are secured to the face of the backing member 12 in anydesired manner, they can be adhesively secured, by use of an adhesivesimilar to the self sealing envelopes presently on the market, or in anyother desired manner.

To facilitate removal of the top liner when desired, I have pressed avery thin strip of cord 18 between each pair of laminations, all asshown in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, the one end 19 projectingslightly beyond the edge of the liners so that it can be grasped andpulled outwardly, separating the laminations sufficiently to permit aperson to grasp the edge of the top lamination and pull it up and overas clearly illustrated in FIGURE 5 4 of the drawings. Starting thestripping at the one point out in the appended claims, it beingunderstood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion andminor details of construction, without departing from the permits theuser to first strip the lamination around the edge, and then pullupwardly to free the center portion of the liner; it thus forms a bag B(see FIG. 6) in which all waste food and liquid remaining on the plateis held, thus preventing contact or leakage onto the next lowermostliner.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings, I have shown a slightly modifiedconstruction in which the plate 2% is formed with a plurality ofspaced-apart, inwardly-projecting, overhanging sections 21 spacedequidistantly around the upper edge thereof, so that an individual thinplate 22, sometimes referred to as picnic plates, formed of paper,plastic or any other material, can be placed on the plate 20, with theupper edge 23 thereof disposed beneath these overhanging sections 21,which hold the plate 22 in place.

In practice, the food, (not shown), isplaced on the thin plate 22, andafter the meal is finished, these thin plates, due to their flexibility,are easily removable from the sections 21 and are disposable as desired.

These plates 22 can be plastic coated if desired, and they are alsosufliciently tough to withstand the conventional usage of knives andforks and other dinnerware.

In FIG. 9 of the drawings, I have shown the flexible plate 22 invertedand used as a cover to keep food warm. The member 22 can be easilyapplied as it is sufiiciently flexible to permit the rim to be insertedbeneath the overhanging sections 21.

The dishes will, of course, be washed as desired by the housewife, butnot nearly as often as is necessary when used Without liners, and thiswill minimize breakage, cracking and chipping which usually occursduring the washing operation.

While I have shown and described one way of separating the liners bymeans of a thin cord; it will, of course, be understood that this can beaccomplished in a number of ways; however, I find the instant methodeconomical and satisfactory.

From the foregoing description, it will be obvious that I have perfecteda simple, practical, and economical, disposable liner and/ or unit foruse on dishes or" all kinds, and from which the individual liner orliners are easily removable when soiled.

What I claim is:

1. A disposable liner unit for removable application to the upper faceof a dish having a substantially fiat surface surrounded by an upwardlyinclined, peripheral rim, said liner unit comprising a pack ofindividual, flexible, moisture proof liner members; a base memberheavier than the individual liner members of said pack; means removablysecuring said liner members to one another in face to face relation; andmeans securing said pack of liner members to said base member, saidliner unit having a shape corresponding substantially to the shape ofsaid dish and being of such size that a portion of said base memberprojects beyond the periphery of the rim of said dish when said linerunit is applied to the upper face of said dish, the projecting portionof said base member having a plurality of spaced apart, bendable tonguesstruck therefrom, said tongues being bendable in a direction away fromsaid pack of liner members to permit the rim of said dish to beremovably gripped between said tongues and said base member.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1 including a flexible cordsecured to each liner member of said pack and interposed betweenadjacent liner members at the periphery of said pack for separatingindividual liner members from said pack, each of said cords extendingonly partially around said pack.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,955,385 Gray Apr. 17, 1934 2,025,963 Voelcker Dec. 31, 1935 2,542,413Ibsch Feb. 20, 1951 2,710,704 Webke June 14, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS908,204 France Aug. 20, 1945

1. A DISPOSABLE LINER UNIT FOR REMOVABLE APPLICATION TO THE UPPER FACEOF A DISH HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT SURFACE SURROUNDED BY AN UPWARDLYINCLINED, PERIPHERAL RIM, SAID LINER UNIT COMPRISING A PACK OFINDIVIDUAL, FLEXIBLE, MOISTURE PROOF LINER MEMBERS; A BASE MEMBERHEAVIER THAN THE INDIVIDUAL LINER MEMBERS OF SAID PACK; MEANS REMOVABLYSECURING SAID LINER MEMBERS TO ONE ANOTHER IN FACE TO FACE RELATION; ANDMEANS SECURING SAID PACK OF LINER MEMBERS TO SAID BASE MEMBER, SAIDLINER UNIT HAVING A SHAPE CORRESPONDING SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE SHAPE OFSAID DISH AND BEING OF SUCH SIZE THAT A PORTION OF SAID BASE MEMBERPROJECTS BEYOND THE PERIPHERY OF THE RIM OF SAID DISH WHEN SAID LINERUNIT IS APPLIED TO THE UPPER FACE OF SAID DISH, THE PROJECTING PORTIONOF SAID BASE MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART, BENDABLE TONGUESSTRUCK THEREFROM, SAID TONGUES BEING BENDABLE IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROMSAID PACK OF LINER MEMBERS TO PERMIT THE RIM OF SAID DISH TO BEREMOVABLY GRIPPED BETWEEN SAID TONGUES AND SAID BASE MEMBER.